Hurricane season officially begins on June 1. However, Tropical Storm Beryl is scheduled to hit southern Georgia and northern Florida Sunday night about 9:00. It is anticipated that it will cause clusters of thunderstorms throughout this region from then through Memorial Day. Beryl will also cause ocean swells from Palm Beach to North Carolina.
Currently, tropical storm warnings are in effect throughout the entire Georgia coast, southern South Carolina and Florida as far south as Orlando. Right now, winds from Beryl are 50 mph, with gusts up to 65 mph. Tropical storms are defined as wind conditions of at least 45 mph. currently, around 6 inches of rain is predicted for this area on Sunday night and Monday, which will probably cause flooding and high tides along the coast.
It is expected that this will, at minimum, be a three day thunderstorm affecting the three state region as well as some parts of the North Carolina coast. This weekend is the beginning of the summer season, which is obviously when many merchants make most of their money. If travelers decide to cancel their plans, it will probably adversely affect the economy in many of the beach towns. Local officials have not yet formed evacuation plans, because of the economic havoc that will ensue once tourists and residents leave.
As an aside, our next door neighbors, who just arrived today, were advised by the rental management company on SGI to be prepared to leave either Sunday night or Monday morning. Luckily, they decided that they should get rid of their beer just in case. As a helpful kind of guy, I assisted in this endeavor.
Here is the NBC news report of Beryl:
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